1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to motorcycle carriers and more particularly to carriers for lifting and storing motorcycles on a truck bed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Attachments for carrying motorcycles at the rear of a vehicle have been known in the past. In typical practice such carriers store the motorcycle across the rear of the vehicle and thus are limited by width to one motorcycle. Motorcycles, however, are characterized by light weight, narrow cross-section and a lower center of mass relative to their wheel base and a transverse alignment is thus not favorable for optimal storage. Simply, this manner of storage aligns the largest profile of the motorcycle over the vehicle storage surface, thus limiting the number of motorcycles stored.
In today's marketplace large recreational vehicles, trucks, and vans are frequently used to carry motorcycles to the intended destination. Vehicles of this kind are characterized either by a flat bed surface or by a large rear vertical surface, a surface which can conveniently accomodate more than one motorcycle in vertical alignment. Moreover, these vehicles are characteristically conformed for heavy load capability and thus tolerate well this added weight.
Accordingly, techniques for lifting and storing motorcycles in vertical alignment have been sought in the past and it is one such technique that is disclosed herein.